The problem of some in society becoming radicalized should be tackled by building relationships with those at risk, including through business and faith communities, writes Brian Grim in a Tony Blair Faith Foundation commentary.*

As Europeans join and return from fighting with ISIS in Iraq and Syria, people from across the world, including world leaders, agree that something must be done urgently.The January 2015 attacks in Paris, carried out by those with a reported link to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), made this abundantly clear. Beyond policing European streets and coordinating an international response to ISIS, what more should be done?The answer involves understanding two things: the socio-economic context of ISIS's horrific advance, and the diverse social and personal paths to radicalisation.According to a Pew Research survey in 2013, in the years running up to the ISIS advance the Iraqi public's chief concern was unemployment. Less than half of those surveyed in Iraq considered conflict between religious groups to be a very large problem, but by contrast, three-quarters of those surveyed considered unemployment to be a "very large problem" for the country. Indeed, the lack of jobs arguably softened the ground for ISIS' sudden advance.

Although research indicates that a poor economy does not cause violent extremism, it contributes to the conditions that terrorists can exploit. Indeed, terrorists know how to use poverty and wealth for their benefit. They recruit suicide bombers from the ranks of the poor and they look to the wealthy for cash because, asobserved in the Yale Review of International Studies, the rich "would rather donate their money than their sons to the cause."More than that, radical extremists think strategically about business and the economy. The January attacks in Paris targeted two local businesses connected with much bigger industries:Hyper Cacher (the multi-billion dollar Kosher food industry) and Charlie Hebdo (the multi-trillion dollar media industry).On a larger scale, the 9/11 al-Qaeda attack on the World Trade Centre in New York – soaring symbols of development and progress – was not a random choice. In 2004, Osama bin Laden said in a taped speech, "We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Every dollar of al-Qaeda defeated a million dollars [spent by the US], including the loss of a huge number of jobs."Some studies suggest that radical extremism can play a role during times of global economic downturn, but whether or not this is the case, the foreign policy focus of many of the world's leading economies has without a doubt been on war and peace rather than business.So, if violent extremists attack businesses and take advantage of a bad economy to sow seeds of religious discord and violence, could better business be part of the response to radical extremism? Yes, but this requires an understanding that the radicalisation process is not only social but also deeply personal.The "pathway by which one person is radicalised can have a completely different effect on someone else", observes Raffaello Pantucci of London's RUSI think tank. A similar conclusionwas reached by the Paris-based Centre of Prevention of Sectarian Derivatives linked to Islam (CPDSI), which finds that contemporary extremist discourse appeals to those from any background, not just those who are considered socially "at risk".The whole world would like to see an improvement in the lives and future of those living on the edge or fringes of society, where they feel powerless and isolated – the very conditions that can make them most susceptible to proposals to find power through violence.Reflecting the views of many, Pope Francis said that "it is urgent that governments throughout the world commit themselves to developing an international framework capable of promoting a market of high impact investments, and thus to combating an economy which excludes and discards." Similarly, British prime minister David Cameron argues, "Social investment can be a great force for social change on the planet. It can help us to build bigger and stronger societies. That power is in our hands. And together we will use it to build a better future for ourselves, for our children and for generations to come."These are grand statements by world leaders. But how does the rubber meet the road when it comes to countering radicalisation?The instrumental link between social impact investing and countering radicalisation is person-to-person contact. Social investing that has impact requires personal and business relationships characterised by love and respect, not hate and intolerance. Accordingly, the need is for business people in partnership with faith volunteers to build personal relationships with those at risk of radicalisation. The involvement of interfaith teams (including humanists) is a critical component because countering religious hate can most effectively be done with "love of neighbour" as exemplified in the Good Samaritan (a foreigner with a foreign faith, by the way).Here, neighbourly love is not an emotion but a practical commitment to help mentor those in need with individualised resources that help them provide for their own needs as well as those of their families and extended families. My Religious Freedom & Business Foundation is currently working with a team from faiths as diverse as Mormons and Muslims, Catholics and Humanists, Anglicans and Agnostics, to develop a toolkit for volunteers to use in a personalised way with the at-risk people they mentor. The toolkit will have resources that can be customised as needed to address six themes of a balanced life: education, health, employment, productivity and stewardship, household finances, and spiritual strength. The mentors will also be tasked with helping to identify sustainable investments that help promote integration and economic development in communities where people at risk of radicalisation live. The projects should adhere to several important criteria: (1) a high probability of a successful business venture; (2) applicability of the business model to other situations; (3) representation of different faith traditions; and (4) promoting productive collaboration between religious minorities and other segments of society.When love of neighbour is accompanied by empowering social investment, integration and interfaith appreciation result. In the end, all this is good for business because, as the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby appositely notes, good business is about good relationships. This applies to neighbourhoods in cities and communities throughout Europe, as well as suffering populations in northern Iraq.For ways to get involved with this initiative, contact the author who will be speaking on 3 February 2015 at the School of Management and Social Sciences, St. Mary's University, Twickenham, London (see details).* The views expressed by this author remain solely their own and are not to be taken as the view of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation.This commentary was first published on 2 February 2015 by the Tony Blair Faith Foundation.

The bloody conflict of ISIS in northern Iraq is not a Sunni-Shia conflict, but rather the ultra-extremist Sunni Islamic State trying to enforce its intolerant vision on all Muslims and non-Muslims alike, regardless of sectarian identity. And despite the apparent role of Sunni and Shia sectarian violence in parts of the Middle East today, when reviewed globally, countries with high proportions of Sunni and Shia are not necessarily violent or plagued with conflict, according to a report by the Institute for Economics and Peace carried out in conjunction with the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation.

Iran also has a similar proportional breakdown, except it has a Shia instead of Sunni majority. This suggests the religious demographic breakdown is not necessarily a deterministic factor to peace. Similarly, there are differing peace levels for countries where Sunni and Shia have similar proportions of a population. Bahrain is significantly more peaceful than other countries with a similar proportional Sunni/Shia split such as Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. There are many relatively peaceful countries which have a significant proportion of Sunni and Shia.

However, it is important to note that based on a perception survey from Pew Research the Sunni and Shia divide is considered significant by Muslims with 73% of countries with significant numbers of Muslims believing that friction between religious groups is a moderately or very big problem for their country. Undoubtedly, sectarian violence has been a major feature of armed conflict in the Middle East today. This is evidenced by the fact that when countries with majority Muslim populations have engaged in armed conflict it is generally civil or inter-religious conflict. Indeed, the twenty-first century has not been marked by the clash of civilisations but rather intra-group conflict. Of the 15 armed conflicts motivated in part by Islamist groups in 2013, all but 5 occurred in countries where Muslims were in the majority.Religious restrictions do not correlate very strongly with peace at only 0.24, whereas religious hostilities do at 0.61. This suggests that for the majority of Muslim countries government restrictions towards religion has less of an impact on peace than religious hostilities do. 70% of Muslim-majority countries are authoritarian regimes, with 23% hybrid regimes. There are only three flawed democracies, and no full democracies. As such it is unsurprising that Muslim-majority countries have high levels of government restrictions.

What distinguishes Muslim-majority countries is differing performance in the Pillars of Peace, a framework developed by IEP to assess the positive peace factors that create peaceful societies. Specifically, countries that have lower corruption, well-functioning government and better relations with neighbors are more peaceful regardless of the particular levels of Sunni and Shia.

The Pillars of Peace provide an insight into what features differentiate the peace performance of countries with high levels of Sunni and Shia. Three of the 8 Pillars of Peace correlate with the GPI for the most Muslim countries.

Well-Functioning Government

Based on several factors, from how governments are elected and the political culture they engender, to the quality of the public services they deliver and their political stability. Strong relationships across a number of these indicators and sub-indicators demonstrate the interdependent nature of the various governance indicators. These measures are consistently linked to peace.

Good Relations with Neighbors

Refers to the relations between individuals and communities as well as to cross-border relations. Countries with positive external relations are more peaceful and tend to be more politically stable, have better functioning governments, are regionally integrated and have low levels of organized internal conflict.

Low Levels of Corruption

In societies with high corruption resources are inefficiently allocated, making business inefficient and often leading to a lack of funding for essential services. The resulting inequality can lead to civil unrest and in extreme situations can be the catalyst for more violence. Low levels of corruption, by contrast, can enhance business confidence and trust in institutions, which in turn helps to create informal institutions that enhance peace.

One girl recounts how she and her friend were given to a IS man 40 years their senior as a “gift.” They were lucky to escape, but only after being starved and beaten.

Secret Video of IS street, Syria

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, are not so lucky, and remain captives of IS with reports of rape and sexual abuse of detained women and children.

The group that calls itself the Islamic State (IS) has carried out ethnic cleansing on a historic scale in northern Iraq, according to a recent report by Amnesty International. According to the report, ethnic and religious minorities – Assyrian Christians, Turkmen Shi’a, Shabak Shi’a, Yezidis, Kakai and Sabean Mandaeans – are under threat of death if they do not convert to Islam. There have been allegations that many of the women and girls who have been abducted by IS fighters, notably girls in their teens and early 20s, have been subjected to rape or sexual abuse, forced to marry fighters, or sold into sexual slavery.

At the same time, a handful of women from the West are reported to have freely moved to IS-controlled areas (see secret video of an IS-controlled street). Their stories add to the claims of legitimacy by the IS leaders. On the video, one French woman caught on video talking to her mother in France, explains, “I don’t want to come back, Mama, because I’m happy here. Everything you see on TV is fake, I swear to you, it’s not true. Do you understand? They exaggerate everything on TV.”

New Analysis

A new analysis of data by the Weekly Number shows that the denial of religious freedom contributes to gender inequality throughout the world. Extremist ideologies such as IS represent the complete loss of religious freedom, and when respect for a diversity of religious beliefs and practices disappears, gender inequality is often a result.

Gender Inequality Higher When Restrictions on Religious Freedom Are Higher

Among 4 Largest Countries in Each World Region

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Among 25 Countries with Highest Restrictions

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Religious minorities are especially vulnerable when the right to freedom of religion or belief, as recognized by the UN Declaration of Human Rights, is not protected. IS justifies its rampant disregard for life by citing ideological superiority. Hiding behind this claim, IS justifies ethnic cleansing by killing Yazidi men and boys, and calling the women and girls “pagans,” selling them into slavery if they refuse to convert.

Any solutions will need to address issues such as religious freedom, because religious freedom is not only tied to gender equality but also to more stable economies. Religious intolerance affects women’s ability to engage in and contribute to the economy.

IS demonstrates the extreme instability that accompanies absolute religious intolerance. An already destabilized region is made even more so, leaving ancient minority faiths displaced and on the verge of being wiped out.

PRESS RELEASE:The coupling of religious freedom & business provides solutions to the world's pressing socio-economic problems. Weekly Number author and Religious Freedom & Business Foundation President Brian Grim is discussing these solutions at major events across the world:

The Christian share of Iraq's population is nearly four times smaller today than it was when former dictator Saddam Hussein assumed power in the 1970s. While the decline in the Iraqi Christian population has occurred over time, the recent decades of war and the current attempt of the Islamic State* to wrest control of traditional Iraqi Christian homelands is making the country inhospitable to any religious diversity.

The Islamic State recently took over Qaraqosh, the largest Christian city in Iraq. The fall of the city comes after the Islamic State had taken over Mosul, issuing an ultimatum that non-Muslims convert to Islam, pay a fine, or face death by the sword. Many of the Christians in Mosul had previously fled to Qaraqosh.

The World Religion Database estimates that the Christian share of people living in the territory of present-day Iraq dropped from 6.4% in 1900 to 3.8% in 1970 and to about 1% today.

Prior to the current wave of hostilities, the World Religion Database estimated that Christians would make up less than a half percent of Iraq's population by 2050. Given the severity of the ongoing Islamic State attacks, that statistic may be unrealistically high.

Christians are not the only religious minority facing the brutality of the Islamic State. World attention is focused on the plight of the Yazidis, one of Iraq's oldest minority faiths whose belief system is a combination of elements from Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam.

The Islamic State has killed over 500 Yazidis, while 30,000 were besieged in the Sinjar mountains with no food or water, prompting some international responses. The Islamic State has also taken hostage Yazidi women and children, with witnesses claiming the women are being sold or forced into marriage.

* Islamic StateThe advances of the Islamic State – formerly the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) – in the past months have been shocking. Iraqi government is yet to make any significant gains in its counter-attack. For more on the Islamic State, see the Religion & Geopolitics project of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation.

Exacerbating the situation in Iraq is an issue that surpassed religious conflict as a major public concern in 2012 - the economy.

A Pew Research survey conducted in 2012 (before the Islamic State gained ground) found that the large majority of Iraq's population (74%) considered unemployment to be a "very large problem" for the country. By contrast, fewer than half of the population (46%) considered conflict between religious groups to be a very large problem.

Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum and founder of the Arab Stabilisation Plan, and Erik Berglof, chief economist for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, argue that the dramatic events now unfolding in Iraq show the need for a coordinated economic plan to offer hope and enhance stability. In particular, they note that the International Labor Organization (ILO) found that the Middle East has the world's highest youth unemployment rate in the world, and it is rising.

This, however, does not mean that social hostilities involving religion are irrelevant. Rather, it highlights the dangers of a system where religion and religious identities become rallying points for other grievances. As the Shia-dominated Iraqi government favors other Shia Muslims -- long the underclass under Saddam Hussein -- this sets up new animosities that are easily grafted onto other issues, such as unemployment, inequality and unmet expectations.

Although not the immediate solution to the current crisis, research shows that protecting religious freedom and the rights of all groups to contribute as equal members of society leads to peace, more inclusive societies and economic competitiveness. Any long term solution to the escalating Iraq crisis that ignores the religious context will miss one of the key elements that gives resiliency to societies and economies - religious freedom.

Research from the Yearbook of International Religious Demography (Brill, 2014)* shows religious adherents of all faiths are globally on the rise. Continued growth of religious populations appears likely, as they are younger on average than the world’s religiously unaffiliated population.

"For the first time in the history of Iraq, Mosul is now empty of Christians," said Louis Sako, who heads Iraq's largest Christian community. Mosul previously had upwards of 60,000 Christians, according to the World Religion Database.

AFP reports that Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) had already demanded that those Christians still in the city convert, pay a special tax or leave, but it was messages on local mosques' loudspeakers that seems to have sparked the exodus. An earlier statement by ISIS in Mosul had said there would be "nothing for them but the sword" if Christians did not abide by those conditions before noon (0900 GMT) on Saturday, according to AFP.

Al Jazeera reports that "Some families have had all their money and jewelry taken from them at an insurgent checkpoint as they fled the city."

Human Rights Watch said on Saturday that the "Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) is killing, kidnapping, and threatening religious and ethnic minorities in and around the northern Iraqi city of Mosul."

And Business Week reports that to oust Christians from Mosul, Iraq, Islamic militants have begun turning off a precious utility: WATER.

This latest atrocity is part of a global trend monitored by Pew Research. Overall, across the six years of the Pew Research study (2006-2012), religious groups face harassment in 185 countries . Members of the world’s two largest religious groups – Christians and Muslims – were harassed in the largest number of countries, 151 and 135, respectively.

The study found a six-year high in harassment of religious groups with the harassment of women showing the biggest increase of six rising religious hostilities. The six rising hostilities are:

harassment of women,

abuse of religious minorities,

violent enforcement of religious norms,

mob violence related to religion,

religion-related terrorist violence, and

sectarian conflict.

As the latest violence in Iraq demonstrate, Muslims face harassment at the same time as Christians - both suffering under extremist violence. And perhaps just as concerning, the appeal and influence of ISIS is spreading beyond the region, including in parts of Asia.

Church destroyed, China

Also, the economic costs of these religious restrictions and hostilities are seen evident in the loss of the socio-economic contributions of houses of worship being destroyed by governments, not to mention the lost global competitiveness as societies focus on religious conflict rather than collaborative progress. While the prospects of religious freedom are dim, research shows that religious freedom, when protected and respected may be the antidote to this global tide of religious restrictions and hostilities.

June 16 - Brian J.GrimPrevious Weekly Numbers have documented growing religious hostilities in Iraq. The missing headline -- as the Sunni-led Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda, battle Shia-dominated government forces -- is the economy. But, it's not oil and the negative impact on the global economy I'm referring to.

A Pew Research survey conducted in 2012 (before ISIS gained ground) found that the large majority of Iraq's population (74%) considered unemployment to be a "very large problem" for the country. By contrast, fewer than half of the population considered conflict between religious groups to be a very large problem.

Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum and founder of the Arab Stabilisation Plan, and Erik Berglof, chief economist for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, argue that the dramatic events now unfolding in Iraq show the need for a coordinated economic plan to offer hope and enhance stability. In particular, they note that the International Labor Organization (ILO) found that the Middle East has the world's highest youth unemployment rate in the world, and it is rising.

This, however, does not mean that social hostilities involving religion are irrelevant. Rather, it highlights the dangers of a system where religion and religious identities become rallying points for other grievances. As the Shia-dominated Iraqi government favors other Shia Muslims -- long the underclass under Saddam Hussein -- this sets up new animosities that are easily grafted onto other issues, such as unemployment, inequality and unmet expectations.

Although not the immediate solution to the current crisis, research shows that protecting religious freedom and the rights of all groups to contribute as equal members of society leads to peace, more inclusive societies and economic competitiveness. Any long term solution to the escalating Iraq crisis that ignores the religious context will miss one of the key elements that gives resiliency to societies and economies - religious freedom.

As Al Qaeda has apparently wrestled control of major cities in Iraq, the decline in social hostilities involving religion since the peak in 2006-07 is at risk of reversing.

Reuters reports that Al Qaeda insurgents active in Syria's civil war are seeking to reconquer the province they previously controlled in neighboring Iraq, gaining control of Anbar's two main cities for the first time since U.S. troops defeated them in 2007 when religion-related hostilities reached a peak in 2006-07 (see chart).

The U.S. State Department reports that Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and other terrorist and illegally armed groups committed violent attacks that restricted the ability of all believers to practice their religion throughout 2012. Also, sectarian violence occurred throughout the country. Indeed, most terrorist attacks targeted Muslims.

Religious Restrictions & the EconomyThe State Department also concluded that a "combination of sectarian hiring practices, corruption, targeted attacks, and the uneven application of the law had a detrimental economic effect on minority non-Muslim communities, and contributed to the departure of non-Muslims from the country."

As the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) takes up the issue of religious harassment and persecution in its 24 Sept. meeting in Warsaw, dozens are dead and scores injured as members of the Somalia-based Islamist group al-Shabaab attacked an upscale shopping mall in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

And the following incidents occurred just in the past week:• Sectarian riots 127 km northwest of India's capital New Delhi killed at least 31 people and forced hundreds to flee from their homes in a sign of rising tension between Hindus and Muslims. Mehrana, a 6-year-old girl injured in the sectarian clashes (pictured), gets treatment at a district hospital in Muzaffarnagar.

Here are 6 findings from the Pew Research Center about harassment of religious groups as the OSCE and others grapple with this issue (see point 6 for details on Europe).

1. As the incidents from last week mentioned above show, harassment and intimidation by governments or social groups take many forms, including physical assaults, arrests and detentions, the desecration of holy sites and discrimination against religious groups in employment, education and housing. Harassment and intimidation also include such things as verbal assaults on members of one religious group by other groups or individuals.

2. Overall, across the five years of the Pew Research study, religious groups were harassed in a total of 185 countries at one time or another. Adherents of the world’s two largest religious groups, Christians and Muslims – who together comprise more than half of the global population – were harassed in the largest number of countries, 145 and 129 respectively. Jews, who comprise less than 1% of the world’s population, experienced harassment in a total of 90 countries, while members of other world faiths were harassed in a total of 75 countries.

3. Harassment or intimidation of specific religious groups occurred in 160 countries in 2011, the same number as in the year ending in mid-2010, according to the Pew Research study. In 2011, government or social harassment of Muslims was reported in 101 countries; the previous high was 96 countries in the first year of the study. Jews were harassed in 69 countries in 2011, about the same as the year before (68 countries, which was the previous high). As noted above, harassment of Christians continued to be reported in the largest number of countries (105), although this represented a decrease from the previous year (111).

4. In 2011, some religious groups were more likely to be harassed by governments, while others were more likely to be harassed by individuals or groups in society. Jews, for instance, experienced social harassment in many more countries (63) than they faced government harassment (28), according to the Pew Research study. Similarly, followers of folk and traditional faiths faced social harassment in four times the number of countries (21) as they faced government harassment (5). By contrast, members of other world faiths, such as Sikhs and Baha’is, were harassed by some level of government in about twice as many countries (39) as they were by groups or individuals in society (18).

5. Government or societal initiatives to reduce religious restrictions or hostilities were reported in 150 of 198 countries, or 76% of all the countries and territories studied. The most common types of initiatives, in descending order of prevalence, were: interfaith dialogue; efforts to combat or redress religious discrimination; educational and training initiatives; and land- or property-related initiatives. For examples of each type, see the full Pew Research analysis.

6. In Europe, Muslims and Christians faced harassment by government officials or policies in the largest share of countries in 2011 (49% and 36% respectively), while Jews and Muslims faced harassment by individuals or groups in society in the largest share of countries (69% and 64% respectively).

For instance, the European Court of Human Rights recently found that British law does not adequately protect an employee’s right to display religious symbols in the workplace – such as wearing a cross. In France, a Rabbi and several Jewish school children were gunned down in a brazen act of terror. In Russia, the Mayor of Moscow has limited the number of mosques to four despite a growing Muslim population, which numbers more than 1 million due to migration. This means – per mosque – hundreds of thousands of people would have to squeeze into spaces meant only for hundreds.

Finally, although it is much more common for Jews to be harassed by individuals and groups in society, there has been a fivefold increase in the number of countries where government harassment occurred. Government harassment of Jews occurred in 22% of European countries in 2011, up from 4% in 2007.

For a discussion of global social hostilities involving religion and government restrictions on religion with Europe's place in relation to other regions, see my TEDx Talk.